Ranieri: Impossible for Leicester to retain the title

Ranieri's men stunned the football world in May by beating off Tottenham to claim the trophy but the Italian does not harbour much hope of a repeat.

Published : Aug 11, 2016 22:20 IST

Ranieri also reiterated his determination to keep star winger Riyad Mahrez at Leicester.
Ranieri also reiterated his determination to keep star winger Riyad Mahrez at Leicester.
lightbox-info

Ranieri also reiterated his determination to keep star winger Riyad Mahrez at Leicester.

Claudio Ranieri has dismissed Leicester City's chances of retaining its Premier League crown, admitting there is "more chance of E.T. landing in Piccadilly Circus".

Ranieri's men stunned the football world in May by beating off Tottenham to claim the trophy but the Italian does not harbour much hope of a repeat. Asked if he could envisage Leicester winning it again, he quipped: "It's impossible, there is more chance of E.T. landing in Piccadilly Circus!

"But I think now we have less pressure than last season. Everything is different. We have to be clever to repeat it. It's 6,000-1." How Leicester fare is one of many intriguing sub-plots in the Premier League with Ranieri again insisting 40 points, normally the total good enough to stave off relegation, is his primary target.

"We're building and slowly getting better. It's important to forget last season and build our squad," he added. "I'm very curious about this season. The big teams are ready to fight for the title and we are ready to defend it. "Our target is again 40 points and then to see what happens."

Ranieri also reiterated his determination to keep star winger Riyad Mahrez at Leicester with the Algeria international rumoured to be interesting Arsenal. Speaking ahead of Saturday's opener at Hull City, he said: "Riyad is staying with us. I say to him 'keep going, you have to improve your experience'."

Ranieri could not have hand-picked better opponents for its opener with Hull having an injury-ravaged squad amid talk of a takeover by a Chinese consortium. But the former Chelsea boss was exercising expected caution prior to the trip at the KCOM Stadium.

"Hull will want to show their best but we're very concentrated now and we want to play our game," said Ranieri. "We have no injuries, everybody is fit and ready."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment